Saturday, August 22, 2009 KABUL: The two top candidates in Afghanistan's presidential election are claiming victory, although elections officials are saying it is too early to know who won this week's vote. Analysts say what appears to be an uneven voter turnout coupled with possible claims of fraud could have an impact on the credibility of the election. Election officials in Afghanistan are urging candidates to refrain from declaring victory, although that has not stopped the campaigns of incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his chief challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, from claiming a first-round win.Election officials say preliminary returns and accurate figures on turnout will not be available for days."In the provinces under high security threat level maybe the turnout was low. But there are many provinces where the participants were high. Now it's very difficult for us, because we could not receive the final figures from the provinces. That is why I cannot say the turnout. Soon, we will announce the turnout when we get the final figure," said Afghanistan's chief electoral officer is Daoud Ali Najafi. In the last Afghan presidential election in 2004, voter turnout was 70 percent.Most estimates say far fewer Afghans are likely to have voted in this election due to threats of violence from Taliban insurgents that intimidated many potential voters.Observers and election officials say turnout varied widely and was very low in some Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan.
Saturday, August 22, 2009 KABUL: The two top candidates in Afghanistan's presidential election are claiming victory, although elections officials are saying it is too early to know who won this week's vote. Analysts say what appears to be an uneven voter turnout coupled with possible claims of fraud could have an impact on the credibility of the election. Election officials in Afghanistan are urging candidates to refrain from declaring victory, although that has not stopped the campaigns of incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his chief challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, from claiming a first-round win.Election officials say preliminary returns and accurate figures on turnout will not be available for days."In the provinces under high security threat level maybe the turnout was low. But there are many provinces where the participants were high. Now it's very difficult for us, because we could not receive the final figures from the provinces. That is why I cannot say the turnout. Soon, we will announce the turnout when we get the final figure," said Afghanistan's chief electoral officer is Daoud Ali Najafi. In the last Afghan presidential election in 2004, voter turnout was 70 percent.Most estimates say far fewer Afghans are likely to have voted in this election due to threats of violence from Taliban insurgents that intimidated many potential voters.Observers and election officials say turnout varied widely and was very low in some Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan.
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